The Commencement

Kolik jazyku znas, tolikrat jsi clovekem.

"This Czech proverb, impossible to translate, proclaims that you live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once (Words without Borders)."

I have quoted this proverb many times, and yet I find myself compelled to use it once again. If true, this would mean that I have lived about two and a half lives; one life lived in the United States, one in Spanish-speaking countries, and a half in my brief time in Brazil. These lives have made me the person I am today.

If you know me at all, you would know that I live and breath language and culture. My discussions tend to revolve around these topics, and I generally make friends that are passionate about them.

Being a teacher, I cannot bear to keep my knowledge and experience bottled up inside. I must tell others. The purpose of this blog is just that: to share. What I have to say may not be proven or accurate. It will, however, contain my perspective on what I have learned in the lives I have lived.

Feel free to comment or contradict anything I say as long as it is done in a respectful manner. I love to learn, so I am open to hearing new ideas.